August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Monday's Ramblings

Well, Monday comes to find the Old Warhorse in a world of hurt. We went
on a small road trip to my sister's home in the Central Valley,
Chowchilla to be exact. We were at one point within a stone's throw of
that particular Perko's in Turlock. Anyone that's been reading the
current story will know which one I'm talking about.

We encountered a fire on the way, about a mile or two east of Casa De
Fruita on the 152 between Gilroy and Los Banos. The fire eventually
burned 1,650 acres before it was contained.

It was beginning in the afternoon Saturday and the firefighters were
still in mop-up mode Sunday evening. 20+ engines, tankers and
helicopters.

To my friend SC-I was about to make a comment on that locked thread only
to find Mike had locked it while I was composing a response. Oh well, it
was best to lock that thread.

This week may find me a bit scarce-school starts on Wednesday and I have
a ton of loose ends to try to tie up at me school sites.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Friday's Blog

A forum I belong to had a recent post that managed to end badly before
it was locked. It surrounded the idea that homosexual rights would be
the downfall of the church.

Before I go any further, I'll point out that I am straight/hetro,
married, children/grandchildren. You might even add the tag "Mormon" to
that.

The discussion was quite heated at times but it all ended with the
original poster actually (verbally) attacking another because of his
church affiliations. I have to admit that this was just a new low to the
board. I actually felt ashamed of what went on.

I have friends that while not many in number, I can say they are true
friends. I have Pentecostal friends, Mormon friends, Heathen friends and
Christian friends. I have friends who are straight, gay, lesbian,
bisexual (I think) and transsexual. That particular transsexual friend I
consider to be a very close friend as are a few special folks from the
SoCal area. You all know who you are.

So, as you see, I have a a few friends. Not a lot but more than one or
two. Those that aren't straight/hetro like me, I still think fondly of
and in a way, care for. They may be different in a way but when it comes
down to it, we are all members of the human race. Now here comes the
theological part.

It would be wrong of me to discriminate against any of my friends or
those like them, well, because it wouldn't be right. I am very accepting
and tolerant of such things. Sexuality is something we are born with. If
we are straight, gay, bi or trapped in the wrong gender of body, that
was how we were born. We did not learn this, it wasn't some disease that
caused this, it's how we are. Now, for a church to openly discriminate
against another group or even individual, that is wrong on so many
different levels. It's darn near homophobic in a way. And it's
disturbing to me.

I said I'm Mormon. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the model LDS
member and I might better serve as a bad example to other LDS members. I
have to say that I didn't agree with my church getting behind the Prop 8
debacle. I was all for it because it just seems to be a logical
progression. Back in the biblical days, homosexuality would have been a
death sentence in some circles. In today's world, it is very common.
It's time for the churches of today to wake up and realize this is how
it is.

I don't actually expect the LDS church (or any other of those
'Christian' churches for that matter) to be accepting of alternate
(read: not straight/hetro) lifestyles. It would be nice if we could all
just get on the same page, agree that this is how it will be, accept our
gay/lesbian/bi/transsexual neighbors for who they are and what they are
and just get on with life.

There are some churches that have seen fit to include everyone in their
congregations but a few seem hellbent to exclude a large number of folks
for being different. Remember I said 'homophobic'? That's what it looks
like to me. Maybe I'm too accepting but I'm still sure I'm right in this
matter. I was shocked that these churches actually got behind Prop 8 in
the first place! Religion has no business in politics and vice versa.
Maybe churches that do so should lose their tax exempt status if they
want to be in politics. Nonetheless they need to keep out of this.

My hope is that someday, the churches wake up and smell the coffee. Be
accepting. Don't discriminate in the name of God. Don't wave the bible
around for attention without reading it first. Love your fellow
man/woman.

Friday, August 21, 2009

The Warhorse's War Wagon

My Friend The Silver Coyote recently
lamented the loss of his work steed, a very heavily used (abused?) 4WD
truck. He was given a 2WD van to use that he wasn't happy with from the
sounds of it. Well, SC, this is my War Wagon, a 2000 E250 with a 4.2L
V-6. 113K on the odo at this time.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Sunday, Sunday ...

Well, the old warhorse is home again. We had fun at our family reunion,
I'm sun burnt just a bit and I long to sleep in my own bed again. That
is, after I clean up. I'm sure I brought at least a few pounds of lake
grit home with me.

The above photo was taken Friday night standing in my camp site. This is
'very' close to what I actually saw that evening. We were treated to
this again Saturday night.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

For you techies ...

Nice, huh? BTW, it's done this about a dozen times since I posted that
pic. Not good. Boss says the company that looked at has it under
control. Is that why they cleared the panel history so I couldn't see
what they did or did not do? Hmm ... I have a fire watch on that site
now.